#114 Friday I'm In Love

With Halloween! Today we were allowed to wear Halloween costumes at work. My group decided to dress as a favorite musician/band. My first costume was James Taylor (bald cap, jean shirt, khaki pants), but as much as I love him (and you all know how much I do!) that is a little boring for me. This past Tuesday I had a revelation in my car on the way home from work. “Melt With You” came on the radio and I started thinking about music I loved from college, which made me think of The Cure, which made me think, “Robert Smith! Yesssss!” We did have a costume contest. As I was the host (and have won the title of best costume numerous times) I did not put myself in the running. Troy Polumano won best individual and a new band “EWeezy” narrowly edged out the Beastie Boys for best group. It was a great day…Just Like Heaven!

#113 Tallk Chicks In The City

Last Friday I drove to Cincinnati to visit Tammy (my 6'3" friend), who was visiting from Florida. She's originally from Cincy and was visiting some old friends. I drove to Mr. & Mrs. G's and we headed out to visit Aunt Lillian. Aunt Lillian is 90-something and lives in an assisted living facility. She uses a walker but gets around great and is so quick and funny. And lovely - she has her nails done and dresses sharp. Lovely woman!

After that we drove to downtown Cincy to the Montgomery Inn. It's famous for ribs and this particular location is right on the Ohio River. We got there at 5 and had a window table. When we left after 6 the line was out the door.




After dinner Mrs. G, Tammy and I walked along the water for a while. Well, for an hour and 10 minutes, while Mr. G waited back at the restaurant. :-) It had been a beautiful, sunny day and was a nice evening walk. There are lots of interesting things to see along the walkway.




(More info. about this at www.cincinnatipianos.com.)

Tammy and I wrapped up the evening with a trip to Graeter's, another Cincinnati establishment with wonderful ice cream. I had the best chocolate coconut almond ice cream with whole almonds. Mmmmmmm.

#112 Guinness World Record?

I was at Marshall's yesterday and a woman asked my height. After I told her she asked, "Are you in the Guinness Book of World Records?" Umm, no. I did happen to be wearing 3" heels, but at 6'9" am still way below the record.

The tallest recorded woman was 8' 3/4" (from China). Sandy Allan was the tallest living female at 7'7" until her death in 2008. She was from Shelbyville, IN and actually lived down the street from my childhood home for a while.

#111 Boiler Up!

Last weekend I went to the Purdue-Minnesota game with Paul, Lori and Megan. It was a beautiful day and just happened to be homecoming weekend, so we got lots of swag along the way (cups, beads, footballs, shakers, chili). Megan sat with Aaron in the student section and enjoyed their first-down cheer. We ate at the Ford Dining Court after the game. It’s all-you-can-eat and I definitely did. Met some of Aaron’s friends and also saw his dorm room. I did find a clean spot to sit down. :-) It was great to see Aaron and was a good game (Purdue won!).

#110 Sick And Tired...

Of being sick and tired! I’ve been sick twice in the past month and a half and I hardly ever get sick. I was sick September 6 and had a nice “air and water show” (as I heard it described on Bob & Tom) for a few days. I ate crackers and applesauce for four days. I also learned milk is NOT your friend during these shows. I recovered well enough to go on TRIRI (blog to come later).

Ironically, after recovering and having no issues for a week, I had a voluntary air and water show September 19 because of a colonoscopy. My mom had colon cancer so have screenings every five years. I felt like calling the doctor during my other show to see if they had an opening since I was already cleaned out.

So all is well and I bounced back when…I felt pukey the night of October 4. Throughout the night I felt nauseous and had a smaller air and water show. I stayed home from work the next day. You know when you think, “I wish I could stay home all day, lie around and watch TV.”? And then you actually stay home all day, lie around and watch TV and it’s not so fun when you get nauseous just sitting up? And your back hurts because you’ve been lying around all day? NOT fun. I recovered again and was well enough to do the Hilly Hundred (post #109). Why do I get sick right before a big biking event?

My weight dropped due to not eating during these times and I’m doing my best to get back to my fighting weight. You all know I can’t afford to lose any weight!

#109 Hilly Hundred Weekend

Last weekend I rode in the 43rd annual Hilly Hundred. One of my first blog posts was about last year's Hilly. How time flies! And how I fly…down the southern Indiana hills! It was a spectacular weekend with 90-degree weather. Every time I thought it was too hot I remembered past years of 35-degree weather. I also enjoyed pretty foliage and fun people. This year I rode with a CIBA friend and his friends Saturday (Joe, Mark, Christina and her husband John, and Amelia) and added my friend Steve Sunday. I also saw lots of people I’ve met on other camping rides.

The Hilly has a costume contest Saturday. I’d never dressed up before (I know you’re surprised, right?) and decided to dress up like a roller derby girl. Easy to bike in! Joe complemented my outfit with his skull jersey. This was Christina’s first Hilly and she dressed up as Super Girl. She ended up getting honorable mention (Mini Mouse got first place).





I got…a lot of comments:

“I must tell you, I love your pantaloons.”; “Looking good Linda.”; I think I heard a, “Nice @$$.” from behind but wasn’t quite sure; My favorite came as I was standing on the side of the road waiting for Christina to take a picture. A big guy in his 50s with a mustache rode by and said, “Nice panties.”

Bonus local Indianapolis celebrity citing: Vaughn Wamsley!